Loading... Share No Thanks Must Read?Thank YouYes 26 Investigators with the Weber County Sheriff's Office carry a blue bag down a...Share | Email Story Discuss Print LAYTON, Utah — The body a missing 4-year-old child has been found in a Utah canyon and his mother and stepfather are in custody, police said Tuesday.

Layton police said Ethan Stacy's stepfather, Nathan Sloop, 31, was being charged with aggravated homicide. Both he and the boy's mother, Stephanie Sloop, 27, also will be charged with felony child abuse, obstruction of justice and desecration of a corpse, police said.

The search for Ethan started Tuesday after police said the boy's mother reported that he had left his bed and wandered from their apartment complex. Officials said she told them that the boy had walked away five of the last 10 nights.

"That appears to have been a ruse by the mother, something to cover the tracks," said Layton police Lt. Garret Atkin.

Later Tuesday police said they had a credible lead and no longer needed volunteer searchers. The search at that point shifted to Wolf Canyon, about 40 miles northeast of Salt Lake City.

It's unclear when Ethan was killed or how, police said Tuesday. Atkin said either the mother, stepfather or both revealed the location of Ethan's body and that searchers dug up his remains. Five officers were seen carrying a blue bag out of the woods late Tuesday afternoon.

Atkin refused to describe the condition of the boy's body.

Ethan arrived in Utah 10 days ago to spend the summer with his mother, police said. His biological father is in Virginia. His name was not released.

Investigators spent the early morning hours combing through cupboards, closets, Dumpsters and the area near the apartment complex looking for the boy. Sex offenders in the area were also interviewed and had their homes searched, Atkin said.

The Sloops' story changed throughout the day, Atkin said.

The body was taken from Wolf Canyon, about 17 miles from the boy's apartment.

A Utah State Courts records check found that Nathan Sloop has a string of criminal convictions for misdemeanor and felony crimes including criminal mischief, disorderly conduct and drug possession dating back to 2000.

In 2003, Nathan Sloop was convicted of third-degree felony drug possession with the intent to manufacture and given a suspended sentence of up to five years in the Utah State Prison. He served 30 days in the Weber County Jail and probation. The charge was later amended to a misdemeanor.

No criminal record could be found for Stephanie Sloop.

A Layton phone listing for the Sloops could not be found. An after-hours message left for the Davis County attorney's office was not immediately returned Tuesday.

It wasn't clear when charges would be filed or when the Sloops would make a court appearance.

LAYTON, Utah, May 12 (UPI) -- Authorities in Utah say they have arrested a Layton couple in the death of the wife's 4-year-old son, who had disappeared while on a visit from Virginia.

The body of Ethan Stacy was found Tuesday buried near a trail in the vicinity of the Powder Mountain ski resort, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.

Layton police say the boy's stepfather, Nathan Sloop, was arrested on suspicion of homicide. Sloop and the boy's mother, Stephanie Sloop, both were arrested on suspicion of child abuse, obstruction of justice and desecration of a corpse, police said.

A cause of death wasn't disclosed.

Layton Police Lt. Garret Atkin said the Sloops married May 1 and Ethan arrived about two weeks ago to spend the summer. His biological father, whose name wasn't released, was notified of his disappearance and death.

Stephanie Sloop called authorities Monday night to report the boy had vanished after she put him to bed about 9 p.m. She told police he had wandered off several times previously but had come back, the newspaper said.

Investigators would not say what caused them to zero in on the Sloops as suspects other than their stories had changed over time.

"They were trying to cover their tracks," Atkin said.

The Tribune said Nathan Sloop has a history of drug convictions and other crimes dating back to 2000, most recently in 2003 for misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance.

Who are the parents charged with killing Ethan Stacy?Last Update: 10:18 amLAYTON, Utah (ABC 4 News) - Police say 31 year old Nathan Sloop has been in and out of jail mainly for drug related convictions. Stephanie Sloop has no criminal history that police are aware of.

The Sloops moved into the Layton apartment building two weeks ago. They were married last Thursday, just days after Stephanie's son Ethan Stacy moved in with them for the summer.

Neighbors are saddened to hear about Ethan's murder.

"It's amazing how something like that could happen, and no one around here knew anything that was going on," says Gary McPhie, a neighbor.

McPhie says he saw Ethan a couple of times with his mother.

"He was quiet. You had to talk to him. He wouldn't talk to you," says McPhie.

While mothers in their apartment complex are disturbed about the child's murder. Police say it was at the hands of his stepfather, with the help of his mother.

"I don't know how any mom could do that. You give birth to them, and love them. How could someone do that to their child?" says Dawn Smith, a neighbor.

"I have a four year old. Kids look up to you for protection. Kids trust you, and you do that to your baby. It's absolutely sickening," says Savannah Jeffers, a neighbor.

Police say the couple did not have any other children living with them besides Ethan. They know of no reason why his stepfather may have killed him. His biological father who lives in Virginia has been notified of his murder, and the District Attorney plans to file formal charges against his mother and stepfather on Wednesday.

« Last Edit: May 12, 2010, 01:17:05 PM by Nut44x4 »

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Brothers and Sisters, I bid you beware/Of giving your heart to a dog to tear -- Rudyard Kipling

This is hard to read w/ no paragraph's....I don't have time right now to fix it.

His mother said her 4-year-old son had a habit of wandering out of their apartment in the middle of the night. But police don't believe that was ever the case. Instead, detectives believe Ethan Stacy's stepfather killed him, and then he and the boy's mother tried to cover it up.

Ethan had been in Utah just 10 days. He'd been in Virginia with his father and arrived to spend the summer with his mother and his new stepfather. His mother and stepfather had just gotten married on May 1. Nearly 17 hours after his mother reported him missing from their Layton apartment, Ethan's body was found buried more than 30 miles away in a remote area near Powder Mountain. Just before 5 p.m. Tuesday, five officers were seen carrying a large blue tarp folded in two down the mountain with the body of Ethan inside. Nathan Sloop, 31, was arrested for investigation of aggravated murder, child abuse, obstruction of justice and desecration of a corpse. Stephanie Sloop, 27, was arrested for investigation of child abuse, obstruction of justice and desecration of a corpse. Police say they contacted Ethan's biological father in Virginia and informed him of the tragedy. Authorities did not release his name. The announcement of the arrests capped a long and heartbreaking day for police officers who had searched throughout the night for the blond-haired, blue-eyed boy with glasses, allegedly last seen wearing Spider-Man pajamas. "Anytime you get a case involving a child like this, it makes you wonder how that happens," Layton Police Lt. Garret Atkin said. Investigators did not say Tuesday how, when or why Ethan was killed, but Atkin noted they do not believe his death was premeditated. Police believe that after Ethan was killed, his body was driven to a remote area about 11 miles up Ogden Canyon near Wolf Creek Resort and Powder Mountain, past Pine?view Reservoir, about 200 yards off the main canyon road in a heavily wooded area close to a dirt access road owned by Powder Mountain Ski Resort. Investigators wearing yellow raincoats and carrying evidence bags and shovels focused on the specific area Tuesday afternoon. "Due to the weather and terrain, it (was) a very difficult crime scene to process," Atkin said. Police were originally contacted by the boy's parents at 11:55 p.m. Monday. They said Ethan had gotten out of bed and wandered off again without them noticing. Officers went door-to-door in the apartment complex asking if tenants had seen anything, checked trash bins, vehicles, storage sheds and area businesses. Police dogs aided in the search, and night vision equipment was used to help search for the boy. Reverse 911 calls were made in the area, and known sex offenders in the area were also questioned, Atkin said. About 3 a.m., tenants said police knocked on all the apartment doors again, this time asking to conduct a thorough search of each unit. Residents said the Sloops had just recently moved into the apartment complex. "They checked the washer, the dryer, lower cupboards, the bathroom ? that's good though," said neighbor Steve Haynes. One neighbor who lives in an apartment adjacent to the Sloops said she was painting inside her house and saw police arrive, searching through her apartment. "I didn't sleep all night long thinking about that poor boy," said Tracy, who asked to be identified by her first name only. "I saw the stepdad walking around (Tuesday). He looked upset." Another neighbor, Janet Hope, said she was coming home from work around 6 p.m. either Thursday or Friday and saw Stephanie Sloop come down the steps of her apartment and walk along the sidewalk onto the grass. "She seemed agitated, kept stopping and looking back," Hope said. Hope said Nathan Sloop then followed her and "put his hands around her face, like a 'you gotta listen to me' kind of thing. I didn't think about it until all this happened." Although Hope never saw Ethan, other neighbors, including the Sloops' downstairs neighbor Gary McPhee, said he'd occasionally seen the little boy wandering around by himself. Police aren't sure when the boy was killed, but McPhee said he last saw Ethan on either Saturday or Sunday. "It's scary to live anywhere, if anybody could do this to a little boy," McPhee said. Chaunie Kimbro, who has a 15-month-old girl, said she had often seen Nathan and Stephanie Sloop smoking on the steps outside their apartment door, but she never saw a little boy. "It kinda sounded funny to me that a little boy would be walking out at night in the pouring rain," Kimbro said. Even before the discovery of Ethan's body, many tenants questioned how the boy could have sneaked out of the apartment without the parents hearing the door. By 11 a.m., after conducting several interviews with the Sloops, detectives got a break in the case and learned of a possible burial site near Powder Mountain. "Their stories changed during the process. ? They were trying to cover some tracks," Atkin said of the parents. "Parents are always the ones (investigators) want to start with first in a missing person case. They are typically the last ones who have seen (the child)," Atkin said. "You have to do very, very thorough interviews with the parents." About two hours later, Layton police announced they no longer needed volunteers to help search for Ethan. By 5 p.m., Ethan's body was recovered. Atkin did not have much information about the newly married Nathan and Stephanie Sloop. An Internet search of Nathan Sloop showed he has family ties to Davis County and possibly lived in Florida at one time. Utah court records show Nathan Sloop also has a criminal history in Utah. In 2003, he pleaded guilty to drug possession with intent to distribute, a charge that was amended from a felony to a misdemeanor. He was sentenced to 30 days at the Weber County Jail and put on probation. He was off probation at the time of his arrest Tuesday. He was also found guilty of a separate misdemeanor drug possession charge about that same time. In 2001, Nathan Sloop was convicted of disorderly conduct and criminal mischief, and a few months later in a separate case he was convicted again of disorderly conduct and failure to obey a peace officer, according to court records. The Davis County Attorney's Office will review the evidence today and decide whether to file charges against the couple. http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/EndUser?Action=UserDisplayFullDocument&orgId=574&topicId=100020825&docId=l:1184767448&start=1

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Brothers and Sisters, I bid you beware/Of giving your heart to a dog to tear -- Rudyard Kipling

By JENNIFER DOBNER and PAUL FOYAssociated Press Writer SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - A custody fight in Virginia led to a judge's order that a 4-year-old boy spend the summer in Utah with his mother, who will be charged as an accomplice to the youngster's killing, police and a family member said Wednesday.

The biological father of Ethan Stacy received a full briefing on the slaying Wednesday, he told The Associated Press.

"I can't talk right now. I just got the horrible news, talking to prosecutors," said Joe G. Stacy of Tazewell, Va. "Right now is not the time."

The boy's body was desecrated and buried in a northern Utah canyon, where it was recovered Tuesday, police said.

The stepfather, Nathanael W. Sloop, 31, of Layton, is being held on suspicion of aggravated murder.

Sloop and the boy's mother, Stephanie Sloop, 27, face additional charges of desecration of a corpse, along with felony child abuse and obstruction of justice, police said.

The Deseret News of Salt Lake City quoted Joe Stacy's stepmother saying he was forced by a judge to give up the boy to his mother for a summer visit. Layton police provided a similar account, saying Ethan arrived in Utah May 1 "after divorce and custody issues were finalized."

Joe Stacy's stepmother, Freida Stacy, called Stephanie Sloop a "spiteful" woman intent on hurting her ex-husband. The AP has not been able to reach family members of Stephanie Sloop.

"She was just an evil person. There is evil in the world, and she is that," Freida Stacy told the Salt Lake City newspaper. She did not immediately return a message from the AP.

"I don't think she cared anything for that little boy. I think she did anything she could to irritate" Joe Stacy, his stepmother said.

Prosecutors said they would file charges Friday against Nathanael and Stephanie Sloop. They have said that Nathanael Sloop was responsible for the boy's killing, but they didn't say how. Stephanie Sloop was involved in trying to cover up the crime, police said.

The Sloops are being held at the Davis County jail.

Chief Deputy Davis County Attorney David Cole said prosecutors are awaiting the results of an autopsy of the boy's body that was under way Wednesday.

The mother initially told officers that Ethan wandered away late Monday from his apartment complex in Layton, police said.

"That appears to have been a ruse by the mother, something to cover the tracks," Layton police Lt. Garret Atkin said Tuesday.

The Sloops' story of a barefoot boy wandering outside in his pajamas changed throughout the day, Atkin said.

Police searched overnight and said that by midday Tuesday, the couple had revealed the location of Ethan's body. The search then shifted 20 miles away to a spot off a wooded trail in Wolf Canyon, which borders the Powder Mountain ski resort, about 40 miles northeast of Salt Lake City.

The remains of the boy were dug up late Tuesday and carried from the woods inside a blue tarp.

Atkin and prosecutors refused to describe the condition of the body.

The couple was married May 6, nearly a week after his mother escorted her son from a former marriage to Utah, police said.

Investigators spent the early morning hours Tuesday combing through the Sloops' cupboards and closets, and through Dumpsters and the area near the apartment complex looking for the boy. Sex offenders in the area were interviewed and had their homes searched, Atkin said.

Utah State Courts records show that between 2000 and 2003, Nathanael Sloop had several convictions, including for criminal mischief, disorderly conduct and drug possession. In 2003, he served 30 days in jail for one drug possession charge and received a six-month suspended sentence for another.

No criminal history was found for Stephanie Sloop, and records show no criminal activity for Nathanael Sloop after 2003.

Attorney Richard Gallegos, who has represented Nathanael Sloop in previous criminal cases, did not return a message Wednesday.

wonder how that judge feels now for ordering the child to be with this mother??? She didn't want him, that is obvious...why force the little boy to be with her? and look what happened! I am really angry right now! You deserved so much better little one...

wonder how that judge feels now for ordering the child to be with this mother??? She didn't want him, that is obvious...why force the little boy to be with her? and look what happened! I am really angry right now! You deserved so much better little one...

Oh Cookie, I know. I realize no one has a crystal ball . . . but for goodness sake, it is hard for me to believe there wasn't a clue . . . God bless Ethan's soul as he is now with the Lord! My heart is aching for his daddy.

SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah man held in the slaying of his 4-year-old stepson beat him for days before the boy died, then used a hammer to disfigure his face and teeth before burying his body in the mountains, according to police records released late Wednesday.

The body of Ethan Stacy, wrapped in plastic, was unearthed by police Tuesday.

Interview summaries filed by Layton police detectives documented increasingly harsh treatment of the boy during his short time in Utah. A Virginia judge had sent the boy to Layton for a summer visit with his mother just 10 days before his death, police said.

Investigators said they obtained photographs and video images of Ethan's worsening condition from his mother's cell phone, starting more than a week ago.

The injuries resulted from the stepfather, Nathanael Sloop, "engaging in a systematic and progressively more violent pattern of abuse toward Ethan," detectives wrote in interview summaries. The documents say Sloop was angry with the child and "tried everything" to discipline him; however, they don't say why the boy was being disciplined.

Sloop, 31, acknowledged hitting the boy, which caused his face to swell, and leaving him in a locked bedroom May 6 while the couple went to get married in Farmington, about 10 miles away, according to the probable cause statements used to support arrest warrants and detention in jail.

Sloop and the boy's mother, Stephanie Sloop, 27, feared his injuries would alert authorities if they took him along to the courthouse wedding, the documents state.

"This pattern of behavior and abuse was done in a manner that was recklessly indifferent to the child's welfare," police wrote.

Stephanie Sloop told police she did not seek medical help for Ethan because she was afraid Nathanael Sloop "would harm her," Detective Brooke Plotnick wrote.

The couple told police they found Ethan dead in his bed Sunday morning, and that Nathanael Sloop buried him later that day.

Stephanie Sloop told investigators she bought two cans of lighter fluid for Nathanael Sloop to burn the body before it was buried. The reports didn't say whether that was actually done.

The stepfather disfigured the boy's face and teeth "in an effort to defeat or delay identification," detectives concluded in their reports.

Prosecutors said they expect to file charges against the couple Friday. Nathanael Sloop was arrested on suspicion of aggravated murder. He and the mother face additional charges of desecration of a corpse, along with felony child abuse and obstruction of justice, police said.

Chief Deputy Davis County Attorney David Cole said prosecutors are awaiting the results of an autopsy conducted Wednesday.

The Sloops are being held at the Davis County jail.

Attorney Richard Gallegos, who has represented Nathanael Sloop in previous criminal cases, did not return a message Wednesday. It was unknown if Stephanie Sloop had an attorney.

Nobody answered a phone at the Sloops' apartment Wednesday, and a message wasn't returned.

Stephanie Sloop initially told officers that Ethan wandered away from their apartment complex late Monday, but that was just a ruse aimed at covering the couple's tracks, Lt. Garret Atkin said.

Police searched overnight and said that by midday Tuesday, the Sloops had revealed the location of Ethan's body. The search then moved 20 miles away to a spot off a wooded trail in Wolf Canyon, which borders the Powder Mountain ski resort, about 40 miles northeast of Salt Lake City.

Ethan's biological father told The Associated Press police gave him details on the slaying Wednesday.

"I can't talk right now. I just got the horrible news, talking to prosecutors," said Joe G. Stacy of Tazewell, Va.

A relative says Ethan didn't want to spend the summer with his mother.

"Ethan did not want to even talk to (his mother) on the phone. She'd call and he'd say, 'I don't want to talk to her,'" Freida Stacy, Joe G. Stacy's stepmother, told the Deseret News of Salt Lake City.

Stephanie Sloop told police Ethan was vomiting, lethargic and refusing to eat for three days before his death. She also said that on Friday, she found Ethan badly burned from his feet to his buttocks from hot bath water, and that she suspected Nathanael Sloop was responsible.

At another point, the couple forced the child to drink two 16-ounce bottles of water, a 16-ounce bottle of Kool-Aid and a glass of orange juice over two hours, police said. They also gave him Motrin and Benadryl to ease his facial swelling and pain.

Utah State Courts records show that between 2000 and 2003, Nathanael Sloop had several convictions, including for criminal mischief, disorderly conduct and drug possession. In 2003, he served 30 days in jail for one drug possession charge and received a six-month suspended sentence for another.

wonder how that judge feels now for ordering the child to be with this mother??? She didn't want him, that is obvious...why force the little boy to be with her? and look what happened! I am really angry right now! You deserved so much better little one...

That judge has lots to answer for....why would they send that little boy to his Mother for the summer knowing what she was like? I hope the judge faces consequences for making a bad decision, after all thats what they are paid to do, make decisions based on the history of their cases......

I am horrified to learn the details of the abuse that this little child suffered.Who could do this to a small child? this is beyond cruel.I don't even know what to say right now. death by torture is way too good for these 2 idiots who did this to Ethan. I say an eye for an eye.. and I mean that with all my heart!

I wonder why their wedding page says July 4, 2010 as their wedding day, however, they got married on May 6? Guess so they would not have to testify against each other as they had already begun inflicting pain and damage to Ethan's little face.I am beyond being filled with rage!!!!

I wonder why their wedding page says July 4, 2010 as their wedding day, however, they got married on May 1? Guess so they would not have to testify against each other as they had already begun inflicting pain and damage to Ethan's little face.I am beyond being filled with rage!!!!

NEW YORK (CBS) Ethan Stacy's last days before allegedly being beaten to death and buried in the mountains was nothing but constant torturous abuse, according to police documents released late Wednesday.

Loving Natalee - Beth HollowayPage 219: I have to make difficult choices every day. I have to make a conscious decision every morning when I wake up not to be bitter, not to live in resentment and let anger control me. It's not easy. I ask God to help me._____

“A person of integrity expects to be believed and when he’s not, he let’s time prove him right.” -unknown

Loving Natalee - Beth HollowayPage 219: I have to make difficult choices every day. I have to make a conscious decision every morning when I wake up not to be bitter, not to live in resentment and let anger control me. It's not easy. I ask God to help me._____

“A person of integrity expects to be believed and when he’s not, he let’s time prove him right.” -unknown